UFC Award Toy Licence to Jakks
Malibu, CA – June 10, 2008 – The world leader in fighting action figure toys, JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAKK), announced today that it has signed an exclusive, four year worldwide Master Toy license agreement with the Ultimate Fighting Championship® (UFC®) organization, with a planned product launch expected to commence in 2009.
The new UFC product line from JAKKSTM will be collector-focused, and the license covers UFC legend Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell, Brock Lesnar, Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira, Michael "The Count" Bisping and UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva, among others. The license also includes the famed UFC Octagon™, and role-play items based on the UFC brand and its classic and current roster of star fighters.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship organization is the world's leading professional mixed martial arts group, regulated by the most prestigious sports regulatory bodies in the United States. UFC live pay-per-view events take place at preeminent destinations including MGM Grand®, MEN Arena, Mandalay Bay® and O2 Arena, and they consistently draw sell-out crowds with record-breaking gates. Presenting more than twelve pay-per-view events per year, the UFC stands as the largest pay-per-view content provider in the country.
The UFC also dominates television with its reality series, The Ultimate Fighter®, now heading into its eighth season. The Ultimate Fighter has reigned supreme for years in the coveted 18-34 male ratings demographic, and it regularly enjoys higher ratings than traditional franchise sports such as the NBA®, NHL® and NASCAR®, as well as NCAA® football and basketball. In partnership with Spike TV® cable network, the UFC also presents ten live UFC® Fight Night™ events and 26 taped programs of the popular program UFC® Unleashed™.
“The UFC is a perfect match for JAKKS, given our extensive expertise in developing and marketing collector driven sports action figures,” said Stephen Berman, President and COO, JAKKS Pacific. “UFC’s enormous and growing popularity amongst adults, coupled with the extensive roster of physically powerful star fighters, gives JAKKS a substantial base to work with, and should be a powerhouse combination for the line. Our objective is to give collectors an authentic UFC experience.”
“Nobody celebrates a collector brand better than JAKKS™,” said Jeremy Padawer, Vice President Marketing, JAKKS’ Boys Entertainment Brands. “We will develop a very broad, totally authentic, playable line of action figures, Octagon sets and accessory items encompassing current and classic UFC fighters. Our objective is to give the collector the UFC experience: All the various fighters, including champions and contenders, as well as referees, announcers and even the UFC President! JAKKS will deliver the definitive line of UFC action figures -- We are PSYCHED.”
“We are thrilled to have JAKKS on board as our first official UFC action figure partner,” said Dana White, UFC President. “The demand for UFC is tremendous, and through this relationship with JAKKS, we can present authentic UFC products and have them available to our loyal UFC fans all around the world.”
WWE Award Toy Licence to Mattel
World Wrestling Entertainment® (“WWE”), the greatest force in sports entertainment, and Mattel, Inc., the undisputed champion of the toy industry and the world’s leading toy manufacturer, today announced that they have entered into a comprehensive, multi-year licensing agreement, effective as of January 2010, naming Mattel as WWE’s master toy licensee covering all global territories upon the expiration of WWE’s current toy license.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mattel will develop and market products in a wide variety of toy categories such as action figures, accessories and playsets, games and puzzles, activity toys, plush products, vehicles (including R/C), and role play products. The first line of products will be available in 2010.
“The unbeatable combination of Mattel’s product innovation, retail relationships and global distribution along with WWE’s world renowned brand and superstars, global television penetration and live events will result in many years of profitable business for both parties,” said Donna Goldsmith, WWE’s Executive Vice President of Consumer Products.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with WWE to jointly develop a long-term global brand that brings their superstar talent to kids of all ages in new and innovative formats,” said Tim Kilpin, General Manager/Senior Vice President of Boys/Entertainment, Mattel Brands.
TNA Award Toy Licence to Jakks
The world leader in wrestling toys, JAKKS Pacific Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK), today announced that it signed an exclusive five year worldwide Master Toy License with TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Entertainment LLC for TNA Wrestling, with a planned launch expected to commence in 2010.
JAKKS' new TNA Master Toy License includes all styles of action figures, playsets, accessories and role play toys as well as collectible items based on TNA Wrestling's top talent which includes wrestling megastars Kurt Angle, Booker T, Christian Cage, Samoa Joe, A.J. Styles, Kevin Nash, Team 3D and other wrestlers who have chosen to align with the world's fastest growing wrestling league, TNA Wrestling.
TNA has been increasing in popularity since its inception in 2002. "TNA iMPACT" airs every Thursday night from 9:00 - 11:00 PM, ET/PT on Spike TV (available in 96.1 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks). Through a combination of televised programming, pay-per view and live events, TNA is also available in over 110 countries around the globe. For instance, the United Kingdom, historically JAKKS' strongest international territory for wrestling toys, is also TNA's strongest international territory, with programming having just moved from Bravo II to the main Bravo channel.
"TNA's stellar and growing arsenal of top world famous wrestlers, impressive ratings increases, aggressive live touring event schedule, and mounting exposure worldwide, coupled with JAKKS' expertise as the world's leading wrestling toy maker, bodes well for this new wrestling toy line to create a perfect storm," said JAKKS' Chairman and CEO Jack Friedman. "By the time 2010 arrives, TNA should be able to increase its market share even more significantly, and fans should be even more receptive to a new and exciting wrestling toy line."
"TNA fans have come to expect the very best in professional wrestling in everything we do, and JAKKS represents the top of the line in pro wrestling action figures," said Dixie Carter, President of TNA Wrestling. "We could not be more thrilled to have the world's leading wrestling toymaker join the fastest growing professional wrestling brand in the world. We believe that JAKKS' strength in the wrestling action figure genre will help continue TNA's reinvention of pro wrestling."

